Brebeuf Jesuit alum Meyer enjoys growth in classroom, on diamond

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Karl Meyer is seeking a top-flight education while also getting to keep his competitive juices flowing on the baseball diamond.
As he pursued joint major in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management, the right-handed pitcher made 10 mound appearances (all in relief) and was 1-0 with one save for Massachusetts Institute of Technology this past spring. In 15 2/3 innings, he struck out 16 and walked 15.
Andy Barlow is the Engineers head coach. Todd Carroll is the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator.
“(MIT) is a really good school and it was once of the few places that I felt like I could play baseball. So I just broke down the elite schools for Engineering with D-III baseball because I wasn’t very big coming out of high school. I was like 6-foot-1 and 170 (pounds).”
Meyer is now 6-3 and 210.
“When I actually went into high school I think I was 5-6,” says Meyer. “I was always kind of overshadowed. I never really had the body or the physical tools to (get on the radar of D-I programs).”
Meyer is slated to head back to MIT the week of Aug. 21 with three years of eligibility. The school in Cambridge, Mass., did not have athletics in 2020-21 so all athletes in the Class of 2024 were granted an extra year.
His options down the road include staying at MIT (a member of the NCAA Division III New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference aka NEWMAC) and pursuing a masters degree or moving to a higher level.
“If I get better at baseball — and my trajectory is looking good so far — maybe I’ll be able to make a grad transfer to some sweet D-I program?”
Born and raised in Indianapolis and growing up in the Meridian-Kessler area, Meyer played at Broad Ripple Haverford Little League through his 12U season then was in travel ball with the Titans at 13U then with Indiana Primetime Baseball. Quentin Brown was head coach his 16U and 17U summers.
Meyer owes a debt of gratitude to Brown, who was his hitting coach for three years.
“He really just taught me to love the game,” says Meyer of Brown (now a hitting instructor in the Pittsburgh Pirates system). “I learned how to work at it and figure it out, loving the process. Not every swing is going to be great. It’s about improving day to day and pitch to pitch.
“He allowed me to come into my own, build myself up with my tools and personal attributes and just allowed me to learn about the game.”
A 2020 graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, Meyer was on the freshman team in 2017 and junior varsity team in 2018 and came up to varsity in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic took away the 2020 season.
Jeremy Sassanella led the Braves program as head coach Meyer’s first two years at Brebeuf, followed by Jeff Scott.
“(Sassanella) taught me about having a routine,” says Meyer. “He was the first coach to really instill the importance of having a routine with your throwing and having a healthy arm. That was one of the thing he always preach to us — that and playing hard. He was very adamant on us always giving 100 percent.
“(Coach Scott) loved his players. I text him fairly frequently. He’s a really great friend. He has really genuinely cared about me as a person and my progression as a baseball player.”
Meyer describes his arm slot.
“It’s not quite over the top and it’s not quite three-quarter,” says Meyer. “It’s a bit of a hybrid — so 5/8 or something.”
Throwing from an high three-quarter arm slot, Meyer employs a
four-seam fastball (which has been clocked at 89 mph), slider, “slurvy” curveball and change-up.
The 2022 College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., sees Meyer with the Local Legends.
In the summer of 2020, he did not play while working an internship with IU Health in Decision & Support Analytics. He did throw some PlyoCare balls and some bodyweight movements. He was with the CSL’s Tropics in 2021.
Karl, who attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School through seventh grade transferred to The Oaks Academy for eighth grade, is the son of Joseph Meyer and Dr. Angela Carbone. His father is an administrator for Indiana University Health. His mother is a professor in the IU School of Medicine.
Karl has three sisters — Cathedral High School in Indianapolis and college graduates Teresa and Kathleen are older. Youngest child Caroline will be a Brebeuf senior in the fall.

Karl Meyer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Photo)

Karl Meyer of the 2022 College Summer League at Grand Park’s Local Legends (Steve Krah Photo)

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Scott, Brebeuf Jesuit Braves bound for semistate

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

When the baseball team at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis took the field in 2019, the Braves had many freshmen in the lineup.
Two years later, junior-rich Brebeuf has qualified for the program’s fourth semistate appearance and the first since 2012 when the Maroon and Gold went on to be IHSAA Class 3A state runners-up.
The current Braves (20-11) take on Southridge (24-7) in the one-game Jasper Semistate at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 12. The Brebeuf-Southridge winner moves on to the State Finals to play Hanover Central (28-3-1) or Norwell (20-9) either Monday or Tuesday, June 21 or 22 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
“We’re a talented ball club in a lot of ways,” says Jeff Scott, who has been the Braves head coach in two on-field seasons sandwiched around the 2020 campaign lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s not just Andrew Dutkanych.”
Dutkanych, a junior right-hander with a fastball that sometimes touches 95 and 96 mph, verbally committed to Vanderbilt University as a freshman. In 2021, he has made 10 mound appearances and is 6-3 with an 0.88 earned run average. He has 108 strikeouts in 56 innings, including 18 in the Marion County championship game against Lawrence North on May 17 at Victory Field.
Add junior left-hander Sam Reed (6-4, 1.74 ERA, 12 appearances, 72 K’s, 52 1/3 innings) and Brebeuf has a strong 1-2 punch at the top of its pitching staff.
Junior righty A.J. Rinebold (4-1, 3.42 ERA, nine appearances, 28 K’s, 30 2/3 innings) established himself as the Braves’ No. 3 arm in his first varsity season.
Two of Brebeuf’s four seniors are NCAA Division I commits — Butler University-bound third baseman Jack Moroknek (.359, 11 home runs, 38 runs batted in) and shortstop Nate Bingman (.358, 2 HR, 21 RBI), a Virginia Military Institute recruit.
The Braves have stolen 90 bases in 31 games.
“We’ve got a lot of team speed which is very nice,” says Scott. “A lot of those stolen base comes from our outfield.”
Junior center fielder Anthony Annee is hitting .347 with 11 RBI, 20 steals and plenty of good glove work.
“The kid’s an unbelievable athlete,” says Scott.
Annee is flanked by sophomores Jayden Ohmer (.340, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 18 SB) in right and Michael Finelli (.296, 8 SB) in left.
There’s also junior catcher Luke Bauer (.341, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 16 SB).
Running a gauntlet of tough teams, Brebeuf was 4-5 in its first nine games of 2021 and 2-3 in the five games leading into the Brebeuf Sectional.
“We have played a very difficult schedule,” says Scott. “We’ve done that for a reason — to prepare us for the postseason.
“Preparation putting us where we’re at.”
Scott points out that six teams — Center Grove, Columbus North, Franklin Central, Indianapolis Cathedral, Jasper and Mt. Vernon (Fortville)— playing in 4A regionals June 5 were on the Braves’ slate this spring.
Brebeuf is part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Danville, Greencastle, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter and Tri-West Hendricks. In running their all-time sectional title total to 15, the Braves beat Danville 5-0 and Tri-West 15-1.
Regional crown No. 4 and a berth in the 3A Final Four came by besting Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 10-0 and Northview 17-2.
A member of the Circle City Conference (with Covenant Christian, Guerin Catholic, Heritage Christian, Chatard and Roncalli), Brebeuf has enrollment around 815.
CCC schools meet in home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The Braves play home game on-campus at Father O’Brien Field.
“We have one of the nicer fields around,” says Scott. “I love our (natural) surface.”
Since former Martinsville head coach Scott has taken over at Brebeuf, the program has sent five players into the college baseball ranks — 2019 graduate Sean Swenson (Akron) and Shane Bauer (Dartmouth), Karl Meyer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Andrew Pickett (Hope College) and Gabe Wright (South Florida State College after a year at IMG Academy in Florida) from the Class of 2020. Shane is the brother of Luke Bauer.
Scott’s 2021 assistants are Greencastle High School graduate Wes Neese, Indianapolis North Central alum Joe Perkins, Brebeuf grad Joey Perkins and Staten Island native Eric Hartung. Joey Perkins — son of Joe — played for Scott at Brebeuf and a DePauw University.

Brebeuf won the 2021 Marion County championship May 17 at Victory Field in Indianapolis. The Braves hope to return to that facility for the IHSAA State Finals by winning a Class 3A Jasper Semistate game against Southridge.

Marion County baseball coaches recognize Class of 2020

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Having the season canceled because of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has not stopped high school baseball coaches from Marion County in Indiana from recognizing an all-senior team for 2020.

Sixteen schools are represented with the colleges they plan to attend (many for baseball). These players were regulars as juniors.

2020 ALL-MARION COUNTY SENIORS

Beech Grove: Donovan Bailey — Outfield, College Undecided; Blake Koglin — Shortstop/Third Base/Pitcher, Undecided.

Ben Davis: Jose Guzman — Pitcher, University of Cincinnati; Kameron Kelly — First Base, Undecided.

Brebeuf Jesuit: Shane Bauer — Pitcher/First Base, Dartmouth College; Karl Meyer — Right Field, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Andrew Pickett — Shortstop, Hope College; Gabe Wright — Center Field, Undecided.

Decatur Central: Timmy Casteel — Third Base, Undecided; Brayden Hazelwood — Shortstop, Indiana University Southeast; Jared Thompson — Pitcher/Center Field, Undecided.

Franklin Central: Austin Carr — Second Base, Grace College; Matt Hall — Pitcher, Ashland University; Corey Jeanor — Shortstop, Ashland University; Austin Snider — Outfield, Manchester University.

Indianapolis Lutheran: Jonas Akers — First Base, Wabash College.

Indianapolis North Central: Carter Bailey — Infielder, Undecided; Zach Gessner — Infielder/Pitcher, Undecided; Brendon Gibson —  Outfielder, Indiana University Southeast; Joseph Rangel — First Base/Designated Hitter, Undecided.

Lawrence Central: Anthony Steinhardt — Center Field/Pitcher, University of Dayton.

Lawrence North: Ethan Butterfield — Pitcher, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Marcus Goodpaster — First Base/Pitcher, Undecided; Ty Johnson — Pitcher, Ball State University; Nick Taylor — Left Field/Pitcher, Purdue University.

Park Tudor: Ian Krull — First/Third Base, St. John’s University; Ben Rankin — Pitcher/Right Field, Purdue University.

Perry Meridian: Bayley Arnold — Pitcher, Earlham College; Isaac Jones — Second Base, Undecided; Luciano Salemi — Centerfield, Lake Erie College; Conner Woods — Catcher, North Park University.

Pike: Cameron Powell — First Base, Earlham College; Reggie Thornton — Center Field, Indiana State University.

Roncalli: Will Schoettle — Pitcher, Undecided; Alex Stroud — First Base, Asbury University.

Southport: Kyven Carter — Pitcher, First base, Undecided; Ryan Lezon — Pitcher/Shortstop, Ball State University.

Speedway: Tahj Borom — Short Stop, Indiana University Kokomo; Brady Pennington — Catcher, Hanover College; Brandon Willoughby — Pitcher, Northern Kentucky University.

Warren Central: Justin Alexander — Pitcher/Designated Hitter/Outfield, Seminole State College (Fla.); Cameron Booker — Pitcher, Muskegon Community College; Christian W. Jones — Pitcher/First/Third Base, Indiana Tech.